Review of the Nekopara game series

The genre of visual novels is very specific, it is almost impossible to introduce something new into it, and its foundation is history. But what if you can’t come up with a killer story or new mechanic??

Good day, Stopgame, you are on the blog JG4R (JapGamesForRussia), I tardan07 and today we are reviewing a series of eroge visual novels "Nekopara – Cat Paradise"

In Russia, the genre of visual novels is not the most popular, but almost every one of you has at least once heard of such a novel as “Endless Summer”.
Unfortunately, games of this genre from small studios have the same structure.
Yes, each game had its own atmosphere and plot, but the genre did not evolve in any way and nothing radically new was brought to it.

NOTE: NO ONE IS TRYING TO SAY THAT OTHER VISUAL NOVELS ARE BAD, BUT OUR TODAY’S GUEST STANDS OUT COMPARED TO OTHER VISUAL NOVELS, EVEN THOUGH IT’S Purely GRAPHICALLY.

On December 29, 2014, a visual novel called Nekopara vol was released in Uncle “NoHalfLife3” Gabe’s shop.1. For that time, Japanese niche products were not yet so widespread on Steam and therefore the game was able to get its share of attention. Let’s find out what this “Cat Paradise” is all about?

The developer of the Nekopara series is NEKOWORKs studio, which was founded by Chinese art artist and mangaka Cao Lu, aka Sayori.

Working on games with her are:
Mizuki Nito – Japanese eroge developer, composer of the Nekopara series.
And Yukihito – Japanese eroge developer, writer of the Nekopara series.

The plot tells us the story of Kashou Minazuki.

Kasho is an ordinary guy, the son of famous confectioners and conservatives, which is why his parents are very strict towards him. One day, Kasho gets the idea to open his own confectionery shop.
Having matured and not having the best relationship with his parents, Kasho leaves for the city of Yokohama and opens his bakery “La Soleil” there.
While moving, he discovers two of his cat girls, Chocola and Vanilla, in one of the boxes. The young pastry chef is trying in every possible way to send them back home, but the “girls” persuade him to keep them. As a result, together with them he opens his own bakery, and Chocola and Vanilla begin to work for him as waitresses.

Kashou Minaduki

Patisserie La Soleil

In the Minazuki family, in addition to Kasho, there is also his younger sister, Shigure, who probably suffers from the “Brother Complex”.
As for the “cats”, in addition to Chacola and Vanilla, the following live with Minazuki: Azuki, Coconut, Maple and Sinnamon. In the World of Nekopara, catgirls are a common occurrence and they live with people as pets, despite their human appearance and ability to speak.

There are a total of 6 games in the series, of which, at the moment, 4 have been released and 2 have been announced.

Nekopara vol.0 (August 16, 2015) —> https://kingjackpot-casino.co.uk/login/ Nekopara vol.1 (December 29, 2014) —> Nekopara vol.2 (February 19, 2016) —> Nekopara vol. 3 (May 25, 2017) —> Nekopara vol.4 (Announcement) —> Nekopara Extra (Announcement)

The gameplay is almost no different from its “brothers” in the genre, and in some ways it even loses, because Nekopara has a completely linear plot, without the ability to choose one or another narrative path (Rue).

Elections using the example of Katawa Shoujo

As a result, we have a Visual Novel in which we are the observer. Even though Kashou (the Main Character) does not have a voice acting and we are watching from his perspective, it’s impossible to associate ourselves with him. But “Cat’s Paradise” tries to catch you not with the plot, but with the picture, its elaboration, the direction of the game (It’s strange to see such words about a visual novel) and hentai.

Thanks to E-mote technology, all characters are animated. They move all the time, change their emotions, breathe, and if we add to this the full voice acting of all the characters, then we have a “Living” visual novel in which all the characters feel even better and more interesting. With all this, the game does not slip into an interactive movie and remains a visual novel.

E-mote allowed us to introduce into the game an unnecessary but pleasant “Pet” function, which allows you to pet cats (And not only) in different places. For this they will thank you with their “Nyak” and blush on their face. This feature is available in all parts starting from Nekopara Vol.0.

On top of that, with Nekopara vol.2, you can notice that the game has some kind of direction that ennobles the visuals, makes it more varied, interesting and tries not to let you get bored during the dialogues.

In general, everything related to the visuals in the game is at the highest level. The picture is very beautiful, nicely drawn and detailed, Sayori did her best.
The backgrounds, like the characters, are perfectly drawn, and some landscapes just make you want to put them on the “Desktop” of your PC.

Nekopar’s OST doesn’t shine with much originality.

These are classic, good anime songs. The background music is pleasant, not annoying, doesn’t hurt the ear and is always “on topic”. But it won’t make you want to go online as soon as possible, find it, download it and listen to it for 3 days in a row.

Sunny Paradise

Vocals: nao.
Music and arrangement: Nito Mizuki.
Lyrics: Yukihito.

Days of a Catgirl

Vocals: Haruka Shimotsuki.
Music and arrangement: Nito Mizuki.
Words: Jin Yuki.

Heart Pounding☆Heart☆Flavor

Vocals: Yui Sakikabara.
Music and arrangement: Team-OZ.
Words: Shinichiro Yamashita.

100% Meow Power Nyantasy/100 Nyan Power de Yumegokoti

Vocals: Yui Sakikabara.
Music and arrangement: Team-OZ.
Words: Shinichiro Yamashita

Vocals: Duca.
Music: Scuderia K, Yoshihiro Suzuki (Puyo Suzuki).
Arrangement: Scuderia K.
Words: Duca.

Vocals: Duca.
Music: Scuderia K, Yoshihiro Suzuki (Puyo Suzuki).
Arrangement: Scuderia K.
Words: Duca.

But this visual novel is in the “Eroge” (Erotic) genre, like everything with “Strawberry”?

Despite the fact that the founder of the studio, owner and author of the idea is a girl, the pornographic component is completely fine.
Even people who are experienced in pornography or hentai will have no problem finding a pornographic scene that will completely satisfy their desires.
It is worth noting that in Nekopara the porn moments are fully animated, unlike other visual novels, this makes them more interesting and attractive.

It’s time for the final verdict.

Some good things we can see in Nekopara:
-A very beautiful “Picture”;
-Pleasant music;
-Cute cat girls;
-Not just another “schoolboy” with a harem;
-Interesting visuals;
-Not a complex plot;
-Opportunity to cuddle the cat girl.

Of the minuses:
-Linearity;
-Short duration;
-The plot is without any revelations;
-Monotony.
-The developer requires additional.fee for a hentai patch.

Let’s be honest, take the "graphonia" out of Nekopara and we’ll get a mediocre visual novel about the problems of "cat-girl adolescence" that can get boring quickly. There’s nothing special about it that could make it stand out from other visual novels. At this moment, the following can come to the rescue: Graphics, love for cat girls and beautiful hentai. This novel won’t offer you anything more. This, of course, is not “garbage”, but it is far from “commendable” either.